Improvement in polishing needles



C. 0. CROSBY,'F NEWV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT. Lesa- Parmi Na 86,818, dated February 9, 1869. I

IMPROVEMENT nv noLrsHING NnnDLns.

-, n The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1,0. `O. CROSBY, of New Haven,

in the county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut,

have invented a new Improvementin Machine for' Polishing Needles; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken, in Yconnection with the accompa nying drawings, andthe letters of reference marked thereon, to be afull, clear,and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent in- Figure 1 a top view; Figure 2, a front view; Figure 3, a transversesection on line x x,- Figure 4, a transverse section through the carryingband, enlarged; and in Figure 5, a longitudinal section through the hopper. This invention relates to an improvement in polish- Ving or finishing needles after they have been scoured 1n application A, tiled in even date herewith, the needles are carried by endless screws, revolving in combination with a belt, traversing in the same direction with the face of the screws, but at a less velocity, so that the combined action of the carrying-screws and band causes the needles to be revolved while beingmoved by the screws.V

This invention consists in the introduction of a grooved baud, the grooves of which receive the needies from the hopper, and carry them beneath a band travelling at a greater velocity than the grooved band, so as to cause the needles to revolve while being moved by the groovedband; that is to say, the introduction of the grooved endless bands, in place of the endless screws, for carrying the needles.

To enable others to construct and use my improvel ment, I willfully describe the same as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The general construction of the machine is very similar to application A, before referred to.

A is the bed-plate, upon which, in proper bearings,

' B, the driving-shaft O is arranged, so as to be revolved by the application of power thereto in any convenient manner.

O is the hopper, its lower end or mouth, a, being of the width of the diameter of the needles to be polished.

Beneath the said mouth are arranged two slides, l1 and d, operated respectively by cams D and E on the driving-shaft, through levers b and d, the said slides being shown in tig. 5.

The lower slide, d, passes under the mouth of the hopper, so that the column of needles rest thereon; then the upper' slide b, which is adjusted to the ,proper relative position of the slide d, so-as to pass in above the first needle, and between that and the second; then the lower slide d is drawn back,` and a single needle is 'then delivered; -then the slide d returns beneath the hopper, the slide b is withdrawn, the column of needles falls` upon the lower slide, the upper slide again enters, as before, and a second needle is delivered,

and so continuing, delivers a single needle at' each complete operation of the two slides.

At the mouth of the hopper, that is, at the exit from the hopper into the conductor, the needles are liable to clog, and prevent the needles passing into the channel. To avoid this, I attach, upon the upper slide or plate, a wedge-shaped slide, d2, so as to enter the hopper about the intersection of the hopper with the channel,

p so that as the slide Bf moves in to the columnl of needles, this wedge cl2-will enter at the top of the column, at the point where the needles are liable to clog. The wedge-shape of the slide (Zz-forces up the body of the needles; then, as it returns, allows the needles to fall again; and so, at each operation, agitates the needles at that point, and so prevents their clogging.

Beneath the mouth of the hopper, and longitudi- Anally across the machine, extend two endless bands,ll

and H, grooved correspondingly, each of the grooves being formed so as to receive the needle, and so that a needle lying in the grooves of the twobelts will be at nearly right angles across the belts, the two bands passing over a pulley on the shaft I, the said shaft I revolving, by connection through the shaft J, with the driving-shaft (l, (see iig. 1,) the band passing over the pulley K of the other end ofthe machine; and between the two said'pulleys is arranged a bed or support, G,

upon which the upper rim of the said endless bands rest, as seen enlarged in fig. 4, so that the said upper rim of the baud traverses along the upperv 'surface of the suppolt G.

To retain the bands positively in a position sothat the groove-of one corresponds to the groove of the other, and so as to hold the needles at nearly right.

angles to the band, I. arrange at any convenient point (here represented at the end of the machine) toothed wheels, K5, the teeth cut to correspond to the grooves in the two bands, and so that. the two bands work upon the wheels K5, similar to gear-wheels upon each other, as seenV in iig. 2, the two wheels K5 being fixed upon the same shaft, or together, so that the grooves in the two bands are positively retained in the same relative position to each other.

The said grooved bands, passing beneath the mouth or channel of the hopper, receive a needle into each groove, in their passage beneath the hopper, the needle y delivered thereto as before described, and thus carry the needles from the hopper along over the bed or support G.

Near thehopper is arranged a transverse shaft, J, and at the other end of the machine a corresponding shaft, K1, caused to revolve by worms f f on the driving-shaft; and upon each shaft respectively is arranged a pulley, J and K2, the said pulleys being in a position central 'between the bands F and H, as seen in fig. 1, and a band, L, around the said two pulleys,A its lower surface being in close proximity to the bed or support between the bancs F and H, as seen in fig. 4, enlarged, and the direction of the revolution of the said pulley being such that the lower side ofthe belt .moves Vin the direction of the draught of the bands Fand H, but at a velocity twice as fast 'as the draught of the grooved band, so that the needles, drawn along by the bands F and H, and beneath the band L, (the band lying upon the needles,) and the said band L movingtwice as fast as the needles, theneedles will, by the combined action of the bands F and H, and movingband L, be caused to revolve or roll along upon the surface or bed between the grooves, the depth of the groove in the bands' F and H, relative to the bed h, or rest between the screws being such that the needle will rest upon the V .said bed; and this bed may'be of any suitable material,

to prevent the rolling of' the needle thereon from injuringthe surface of the needle.

. The needles are fed into the bands F and H so that their head ends project upon one side, here represented as the back side.

Upon the back side, I arrange a .polishing-cylinder, M, hung in aframe, N, and caused to revolve rapidly, by the application of' power thereto in any convenient sans.

' 'The said cylinder is coated with. any suitable material for polishing-purposes, andthe frame N is caused to vibrate, sc as to carry the polishing-cylinder toward and. from the screws, bymeans of a ca'n, P, on a shaft, R, through levers S and-T. (See fig. l.)

This vibration passes the cylinder M over the surface ofl the needles. Passing thereunder, the needles, slowly revolving, are polished by the polishing-cylinder M.

In order to securely=hold the needles in their'position While being polished, I arrange, upon the upper surfaceof the under belt, shoes i, borne down by springs m, with sufficient force'- to sustain the needles in their proper position, and yet so asl to allow the belt to be drawn freely thereunder; .andren thenemen, in the rear of the revolvingv cylinder, I arrange a bar, n, which, as the frame advances, strikes the'heads of the nee-` dles, and forces theminto an even position, if they shall, in their transfer, have'been displaced, the said bar being adjustable for different lengths of needles; and. beneath the needles, upon the support G, or at other convenient point,-I arrange a cushion, fr, (see g. 4,) upon which the needles bear as the polishing-cylinder M passes over their surface, this cushion lr being arranged upon springs s, or their equivalent, so as to be self-adjusting.

The frame N is supported in bearings-R, so as to Abe vadjusted to change the arc of the circle through which the polishing=cylinder moves while passing over the needles.

Passing from under the rst cylinder M, the needles are forced through, so that their points project upon the opposite side, to be in ltheir turn polished, and are so forced bya bar, U, actuated by a cam, W, arranged so as to operate against the heads and gradually force the needles through as they advance, until, having arrived at the end of the bar U, theyare forced. suii'- ciently far through that the remainder of the needle not polished by the rst operation may be polished by .the second; and this is done by the arrangement of a cylinder, M', in a frame, N', in like manner as the first cylinder, the frame hung and adjusted in like manner Ain its bearings R', and provided with its cushion r be neath, and with the shoes and adjusting-springs m' in like manner as the rst, the frame N being actuated by a cam, P', through levers S' and. T. rIhe needles passing under. the polishing-cylinder M', their pointends are finished upto and meeting the rstpolished urface, and thus pass 'orn beneath the cylinder M complete.

Themachine, it be seen, is thus far substanessie 'tially the same as that described in application A, save the introduction of .the grooved bands in, place of the' screws.

It is advantageous, in delivering the needles from this machine, that they be retained in the same position as they are delivered, that is, the head-ends al1 one way, in order to facilitate putting up the needles for market.

To do this, I arrange apair of endless belts upon vpulleys 24 and 3, and 4 and 5, so that the. needles, as

they passv from the delivering-apparatus, whether it be screws' or bands, will pass in between the two said endless bands, meeting the surfaces of the said `two endless bands, move in the same direction, and, receiving the needle between their two surfaces, transfer the needles, and, carrying theml over the pulley 5, drop them into a're'ceiver, 6. The saidtwo bandsare caused to trayel at the proper veloeity by connection with the machine l The receptacle 6 for the needles is placed upon an endless band, 7, beneath the lower of the two delivering-bands, the band 7 travellingat a slow velocity, or so that thei receptacle, after having received-a certain number of needles, will pass from under the delivery, when another receptacle replaces the first, and so on, the needles continuing to drop from the delivery-bands into the receptacle, their eyes and points respectively always in the same direction."v

It is not essential that the receptacle be arranged .so as to receive a certain number of needles, but itwill be a convenience so to do, where the needles are 'put up. by count; but thel re'ceptade may remain to receive an indefinite quantity, and replaced at intervals, the only objectbeing to retain the needles in the vproper position.

This arrangement for delivering the needles maybe applied with like ad# antage to the Ipolishing-niuihiue described in application A, before referred to, or to any needle-polishing device, as also may the hopper, and the device for preventing the choking up of' the hopper.

The two ycylinders may be reversed, .orfthe needles may be polished either end first; Iprefer, however, the arrangement or manner of procedure described.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claimj, as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' y1. The arrangement of the grooved exible bands F and H, correspondingly-toothed wheel K5, and drivingpulleys, all substantially as and for the purpose set,

forth.

2.- The wedge-shaped slide di, arranged near the mouth of' the hopper, so as to operate to preventthe vchoking of the hopper, substantially as set forth.

3. The arrangement of the grooved exiblebands F and H, the corre'spondi-ngly-toothed wheels K5, all substantiallylas and for the purpose set forth.

.4. The arrangement, with the twd flexible bands F and H, of' the two-endless delivering-bands, operating l respectively upon'the pulleys 2 3 and 4 5, so as to receive and transfer the needles, substantially in the manner set forth.

5. In combination with the two endless deliveringbands, and the transferring-bands F- and H, the band 7, and receptacle 6 thereon, so as to receive the needles from -the said endless band, and retain them in proper position, substantially as and for the pnpose set forth.

. I 0. O. CROSBY.

Witnesses:

J. H. SHUMWAY, A. J. TrBBrrs. 

